Volocopter and DB Schenker have jointly launched VoloDrone and it successfully takes its first flight.
The heavy-lift drone is capable of carrying up to 200kg over a 40km range.
The three minute test flight reached an altitude of 22 metres after demonstrators secured a Euro-pallet sized load to the box under the VoloDrone. After this, the aircraft brought the payload to a DB Schenker Cargo Bike and landed. Once the payload was transferred successfully, the Cargo Bike delivered its cargo to the final destination under the area’s park deck, marking the completion of the entirely electric, multimodal last-mile delivery.
The vertical take off and landing, (eVITOL aircraft was created to serve more challenging deliveries in a range of environments.
Florian Reuter, Volocopter CEO said: “Our VoloDrone will make existing logistics processes more robust, efficient, and sustainable. DB Schenker is an invaluable partner in our endeavour to untap the massive potential of our VoloDrone’s logistics use cases.”
Erik Wirsing, Vice President Global Innovation at DB Schenker added: “Volocopter has proven again that they are the ideal partner for DB Schenker’s ambition to rethink global supply chains and bring transport logistics to the next dimension for our customers while saving emissions.”
